58. Related link: Disabled Children in a Society at War: A Casebook from Bosnia
By Rachel Hastie (1997)
Oxfam Development Casebook Series
Amazon: This casebook analyzes the lessons for working with disabled children learned from a radical and ambitious program initiated by Oxfam GB at the height of the war in Bosnia. As elsewhere in Eastern Europe, disabled children in Former Yugoslavia were traditionally cared for in centralized institutions which were run by State-paid professionals.
When State services began to break down under the pressure of war Oxfam assumed responsibility for one such centre in Tuzla. The emphasis of the centre gradually evolved from the provision of clinical services to the integration of the children into the local community. This alternative approach slowly won the support of the local authorities, and the project is now regarded as a model.
